Mozilla Readies Firefox Mobile Phones For Summer

Mozilla is throwing its hat into the smartphones ring, as the Firefox OS for mobile phones will be available this summer. Powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipset, Firefox OS will be supported by four manufacturers, including LG Electronics and Alcatel One Touch.

With Apple's iOS and Google's Android cornering the market, Mozilla still sees a possibility in finding a sizable following. "Our goal is to level the playing field and usher in an explosion of content and services that will meet the diverse needs of the next two billion people online," said Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs in a statement. "Firefox OS smartphones are the first built entirely to open Web standards, enabling every feature to be developed as an HTML5 application."

The phones will not be available in the U.S. during the first phase of its release. Brazil, Hungary, Colombia, Mexico, Poland, Montenegro, Serbia, Venezuela, and Spain will have first crack at Firefox OS smartphone, which will also carry Nokia's HERE maps service and a mail app that's being developed by Mozilla.